3 Most Important Sites for travellers Blocked by the Great (Fire) Wall of China 4

I was in China for 7 days, and I happily have forgotten that China the Great Fire Wall. My trip to China was to accompany my mum to settle some stuff at our ancestral home, and at the same time to visit the place.

Before the trip, as we do not know how much time she needed to settle her stuff, so I didn’t do much planning and research. I brought my MacBook along, so that when she is doing her stuff I would be able to google and to plan for our trip and itinerary.

I also did not book in advance our hotels, as nothing was planned in stone, and my yearly VPN subscription has ended a few days before the trip.

#1 Google is blocked by the Great Fire Wall of China

Google and the relating companies are ALL blocked by the Great Fire Wall of China. It means I can’t use Google, Gmail, Google Play, Youtube, Google Map….etc. It means I can’t send the hotel confirmation email to my Gmail account and can’t use the Google Map to pin the location that I intend to head to.

#2 Facebook is blocked by the Great Fire Wall of China

While I used Facebook constantly to keep myself updated with other bloggers and to share photos when I am travelling, I am surprised to know that it is also being blocked in China, so as the same goes for Instagram.

#3 Expedia is blocked by the Great Fire Wall of China

I frequently used Expedia to check for hotel bookings and to compare with other booking sites to seek for the most cost effective bookings before I make complete my bookings. I think this came as an extreme shock that Expedia is being blocked.

What’s the solution to this? I will only have my phone on my travels. Do things like WeChat, KakaoTalk (in Korea), BBM etc work if I’m connected to Wi-Fi? Is internet connections abundant in major cities like Shanghai?